Meat this Friday? Feast or Fast?

by Steve Ray on March 17, 2010

From my friend and Canon Lawyer Ed Peters: No dispensation for this Friday (St. Joseph) is needed.

That the general law of abstinence from meat on Fridays (c. 1251) does not bind on “solemnities” is so obvious that few commentaries bother to say “If the Solemnity of St. Joseph falls on a Friday, even in Lent, one need not abstain from meat.” Nevertheless, the exemption from abstinence on solemnities is patent, and one need not bother pastors or bishops for a dispensation before enjoying a pepperoni pizza this Friday.

But, for my fellow canon law geeks, let me add something really cool: the revised law is not only clear in itself, but it reflects two significant changes from the discipline of the 1917 Code.